How To Build Wealth in 2025: 10 Smart Steps That

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Want to grow your money and build lasting wealth? Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to improve your financial strategy, building wealth is possible with a few simple steps. From increasing your income to investing wisely, here’s how to build wealth in 2025 and beyond.

Key Principles To Build Wealth

Building wealth is not an overnight process. Here are some key principles to know:

• Determine your net worth to establish your starting point.
• Set short-term and long-term financial goals.
• Earn additional passive income when possible. 
• Automate deposits to your savings accounts.
• Develop good spending habits and saving strategies.
• Pay off high-interest debts. 
• Reinvest and diversify as you go.

How To Build Wealth: 10 Actionable Steps

Follow these 10 practical steps to start building lasting wealth.

1. Start a Business or Side Hustle

The wealthiest people in the world are not employees but business founders. Entrepreneurship fulfills two aspects of wealth building: income and high returns on accumulated wealth. Therefore, if you have a business idea that can increase your income, get started.

It doesn’t have to be a huge business. You can start a small business and offer the services you’re good at.

For instance, thanks to the internet, you can create an entirely online-based business. If you’re busy with other things, you can hire people to run the business for you.

How Long Does It Take to Build Wealth?

The timeline to build wealth varies based on your income, spending and investment strategy. While some achieve great wealth in under 10 years, most people build wealth gradually over decades.

2. Increase Your Income

Whether it’s part-time passive income or a higher salary, getting more income is a simple way to grow your wealth.

• Higher-paying jobs:
  • Look at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to see high-paying jobs and their subcategories.
  • Consider growing your skillset so you can apply for them.
  • Examples of highly-paid professionals include physicians, managers, nurses and engineers.
• Side hustles:
  • Consider these lucrative side hustles:
    • Working as a virtual assistant
    • Freelance writing and editing
    • Online tutor, coach or consultant
    • Web design, app development or coding
    • Part-time professor at a local college
    • Part-time driver for a ride-sharing or delivery service

3. Improve Your Skills

You can increase your income by honing your skill set. This could include getting a degree, an MBA or a special designation, which can all earn you a promotion and salary increase.

4. Create and Stick to a Budget

A budget is an important tool in wealth creation. It gives you a view of your expenditures — the things you can cut to increase your savings.

To maintain a feasible budget, you should create a new one every month. Can you imagine a sailor without a compass? That’s what a person who spends their money without a budget is like.

One of the most popular and effective budgeting techniques is the 50/30/20 rule. This method breaks your income into the following categories:

• Fifty percent of your income goes to essentials, like food, rent and healthcare.
• Thirty percent goes to nonessentials, such as shopping and luxury activities.
• The remaining 20% goes to savings.

5. Build an Emergency Fund

Emergency funds prepare you for unexpected events, like losing a job. Such occurrences can disorient your wealth building.

Aim to have three to six months of income saved in your emergency fund for these surprise expenses or events.

6. Pay Off High-Interest Debt

Debt — whether it’s credit card debt, mortgage debt, student loan debt or any other kind — can pull you down.

Aim to pay off high-interest debt first so you can save money and start building wealth.

7. Live Below Your Means

Overspending can dramatically impact your ability to build wealth.

Cut spending on unnecessary things like eating out, buying designer clothes and regular vacations.

While being frugal can be boring and unsatisfying, you’ll amass wealth over time and find it rewarding.

8. Invest In the Stock Market

Investing in stocks is one of the most effective ways to build long-term wealth. Here’s how to get started:

• Investing in ETFs:
  • ETFs make stock investing simpler and safer for most people.
  • Tend to have lower fees and taxes.
  • Built-in diversification.
• Buying stocks:
  • Allow you to be a partial owner in companies.
  • Historically offers the highest returns of any asset class.

Keep In Mind

Stocks carry more risk than other assets — but they also offer the highest potential returns. Diversifying your portfolio with a mix of ETFs, index funds or REITs can help balance the risk and boost your gains.

9. Buy Into Real Estate or REITs

Investing in real estate investment trusts gives you a chance to profit from the real estate industry without direct involvement. Here are some key points to know:

• REITs are real estate company stocks involved in buying and selling properties.
• Mortgage companies also fall into this category.
• Every time the company’s value increases, you gain as well.
• REITs boast very high dividends, which you can reinvest for more returns.

10. Use Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are a key part of building your wealth. Two popular examples include 401(k)s and Roth IRAs. 

• 401(k) accounts:
  • Offered by many employers as a workplace retirement plan.
  • Lets you contribute a percentage of your pre-tax salary through automatic paycheck deductions.
  • Investment earnings grow tax-deferred until withdrawn.
• Roth IRA:
  • Retirement account you open individually — if your employer doesn’t offer a 401(k).
  • Contributions are made with after-tax dollars.
  • Great for tax-free growth and income in retirement.

Wealth-Building Strategies at a Glance

Strategy	Why It Works	How Fast It Builds Wealth
Budgeting and saving	Builds discipline and frees up cash	Moderate
Side hustles	Adds immediate income	Fast
Investing	Long-term growth, compounding and passive income	Moderate to long-term
Retirement accounts	Offers tax advantages and compounding growth	Long-term

Final Take

Building wealth doesn’t require a lucky break — just consistency, planning and the right strategy. Start by increasing your income, saving consistently and investing for long-term growth. The sooner you begin, the faster your wealth can grow.

FAQ

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about building wealth.

• What is the fastest way to build wealth?
  • Increase your income and invest it consistently. Building a business or pursuing a high-paying career can also speed up the process.
• How do I start building wealth from nothing?
  • Start by tracking your expenses, creating a budget and building a small emergency fund. From there, automate your savings and consider investing in low-risk options.
• Is it too late to start building wealth at 40?
  • No, many people hit their peak earning years in their 40s and 50s.
• How much should I save to build wealth?
  • A good rule of thumb is to save at least 20% of your income.

Caitlyn Moorhead and Elizabeth Constantineau contributed to the reporting for this article.

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